Hi, my name is Becky and my husband’s name is Jason. Here is our adoption journey story in a nutshell.

After being a family in waiting for about 4 months, we received a phone call from Creating Christian Families on what seemed to be a normal Thursday afternoon. We heard the words, “You were chosen!” and in that moment our lives changed forever.

We had been chosen by an expectant mother and father to be the adoptive parents of their little girl. This little girl was to arrive in 7 days! Yes, you heard me right, 7 days. Our emotions were out of control, we couldn’t believe we were chosen, and we said many prayers of thanks to our Lord!

After 3 days of making plans, talking with the birth parents, working with our social worker, and booking flights, we were on our way to meet, hold, and add the most precious blessing to our family.

We were privileged to work with the amazing staff at Creating Christian Families/Mother Goose Adoptions. All their support, encouragement, and prayers got us through all the ups and downs of those 7 days. We met with the expectant mother and father for dinner the night before the scheduled c-section. What a true blessing to meet one another, ask questions, answer questions, and make a connection unlike any other.

The day of Mara’s birth was filled with excitement, tears, and so many moments we will remember for the rest of our lives. At 4:25 p.m., one week after we got the life-changing call, Mara Hope came into the world. 6 pounds 15 ounces. We were blessed to be there 25 minutes after she was born, hold her in our arms, feed her for the first time, cry tears of joy and happiness, and share in a moment we have waited to have for nearly 5 years. From that moment Mara never left our side. We left the hospital three days later with our baby daughter by our side, knowing she was going to be in our family forever.

Many prayers are said every day! First and foremost, we thank our Lord and Savior for the allowing us to take this journey and for bringing Mara into our family. We pray many prayers of thanks and gratitude for her birth mother, birth father, and birth family. We also pray for Creating Christian Families and Mother Goose Adoptions, that they may be blessed to continue to do the great work they are doing with both birth and adoptive families.

Today Mara is a happy and healthy 18 month-old who is walking, running, talking and exploring the world around her. We look forward to many more memories with her and pray for you and your family as you patiently await to see God’s plans unfold before you!

How quickly a life can change with one phone call; one very important phone call, I might add.

Hi everyone, my name is Jessica and I am about to tell you about the day and events leading up to when Sawyer, my husband, and I met Liam, our handsome baby boy. One Saturday evening at a close friends wedding, we received a case through our agency via email about a 2 week-old boy being placed for adoption in Arizona. We were immediately interested and submitted our names for a chance to be presented to the birth mom. Well, the following Monday evening, after a long day of work, I received a call from my husband. He asked, “How’d you like to pick up our son from Arizona?” He had just been on the phone with the agency to tell us we had been matched and needed to move quickly on the mountain of paperwork that was to come. The events to follow happened so hastily in anticipation of meeting the birth mom and our soon to be son. We literally dropped everything and the next day, took an early morning flight to Arizona to meet the birth mom and baby over lunch, later signing the paperwork at the agency and then held so tightly the beautiful baby boy that would soon be ours forever. While this was the highlight of the day, unfortunately, that evening and several days to follow, our son had to stay in cradle care until everything would go through and the court hearing later in the week. Him staying overnight in cradle care turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because the people we met through that program were selfless individuals, so supportive and caring and befriended my husband and I during the longest week in our life. Needless to say, that Tuesday – the day we met and fell in love with our son, was an overwhelming, emotional day, but it marked one of the best days in our lives.

Now, our son is almost 5 months old and every day we are even more grateful to call him ours. His personality is blooming and he fills our heart with happiness on a daily basis. We cannot thank the Lord enough!

Our adoption journey is one that was totally led by the Lord. We have had family and friends adopt (domestically and internationally) and as we watched them walk their journey the Lord was planting seeds in our hearts for adoption. We would mention adoption to each other several times a year and agree that it would be great, but the Lord was not opening doors during those times and so, we would place it on a back burner.

We have 3 biological daughters and we have always wanted more children but the Lord had other plans when he closed that door with our 3rd daughter. In March of 2014 my husband came to me and shared that the Lord had been placing one word on his heart during his devotion time and when I asked what it was he boldly said, “adoption.” This was a sign and confirmation to me that the Lord was now opening a door we had been waiting to walk through. We started our journey by researching adoption agencies and options. We decided based on our family and work situation that domestic adoption would be best for us. We were blessed to work with an incredible adoption consultant who matched us with Creating Christian Families/Mother Goose Adoptions.

I will never forget the day we received our phone call that we were matched with a birth mom who was carrying a baby BOY! We didn’t specify a boy on our paperwork as we were open to a boy or a girl but the Lord knew the desires of our hearts. We were SO excited, thrilled, and humbled. We were in the middle of eating lunch at a Firehouse Subs restaurant and I’m sure when I screamed on the phone everyone around us thought I was crazy! Our son was due mid-May but decided to come a couple of weeks early. We were actually on our way out to celebrate my birthday when we received the call that our birth mom was in labor and to get our travel plans in place. Our son ended up being born that night before we could get there – but he was born on my birthday! What an incredible present!! We traveled to Arizona and met our beautiful and perfect son – it was love at first sight. Our agency representative, Melissa from was incredible to work with. She answered all of our questions and concerns and we felt like we really had someone in our corner.

Our son had to go to Cradle Care while the paperwork was signed, during which time we had a fabulous experience with his caretaker. We visited with them and spend hours at her house. Her daughter even took pictures of us while we waited to hear from Melissa that all the paperwork was complete. When we look back on our journey we can see where God was walking right beside us and also where he was carrying us during those difficult days of waiting and wondering. He is faithful! We are so blessed to now have 4 children – each one ordained by the Lord.

I’m going to let you in on the little secret of adoption that no one can prepare you for: at the end of it all, when that baby is placed in your arms forever, and all the paperwork is over, YOU WILL BE A PARENT. A real, live mom or dad to a REAL, LIVE BABY. This may sound ridiculous, but honestly I didn’t see it coming. I think I was so caught up in the paperwork, the home visits, the fundraising, the paperwork, the fingerprinting and background checking, the PAPERWORK… I sort-of-maybe-for-a-small-second lost sight of the fact that in the end, the finish line is really just the beginning. I mean, we talked and talked and TALKED with social workers, and adoption advocates, and to each other about what kind of parents we wanted to be, how we would raise our child, what kind of values we want him/her to have, but it was all so “out THERE”, you know? All the, “well in theory I will be _______ kind of mom.” None of it was tangible yet; non of it seemed real. But then everything changed.

But then, Vivi was placed in my arms. But then I was kissing her little nose and breathing deep her baby smell. But then she was back home with us. But then she was calling me Mama. But then I was feeding and changing and “mom-ing” my way through life and it was like “oh yeah! THIS was the goal!” I know that may sound crazy, but it’s true. There is a hashtag going around called “#surprisedbymotherhood” where moms post pictures and stories about times in motherhood that surprised them–the good, the bad, and the poopy. Initially for me though, it wasn’t so much “surprised by motherhood” but more like “SURPRISE! It’s motherhood!” Adoption made me a mama, and it’s been the best surprise to date.

-Leah

*Leah is a guest blogger for us. To see Leah’s posts click the “Leah – guest Blogger” tag over on the right.

We don’t show many people this picture. There have always been aspects of our adoption that we want to keep private, but today this picture so accurately describes what I want to say. It was taken the first time we met our birth mom. It was such a flurry of emotions that day. We were so anxious about her liking us, whether or not we would feel a connection, and if we would be what she was hoping we would be. Before we left our time together that day, we prayed over her, Viv, and our road ahead. It was a deeply spiritual-emotional experience; one I can’t really put into words. None of us knew what was coming ahead, but we were bonded forever in this moment; going before Jesus together, asking Him to join us on our journey, and praying for provision along the way for us all.

Because so many of our friends had grown their families through adoption, we thought we were going into the process fairly “eyes wide open”. We understood the cost, the paperwork, the process. But what we couldn’t have prepared for is who our birth mom would be. Putting a face to a name and beautiful humanity to the woman carrying what would be our child. I understood (or at least thought I did) the sacrifice this amazing woman would make on behalf of her child, but it is an entirely different thing seeing that sacrifice first hand. She wanted nothing more than the absolute best for Viv, and although I could’ve spouted off that sentiment before our adoption, to see the depths of despair and loss that she was willing to go to for the sake of her child was… the greatest example of motherhood I have ever seen. And I don’t think I couldn’t fully understand that before becoming a mom myself. Now however, understanding how I would do anything for Viv, it breaks my heart and at the same time DAILY restores my ability to be a sacrificial mother when I think of what her birth mom has done. I did not expect to learn as much as I have from her. But, like every aspect of this process, we are so thankful for unexpected provision.

–Leah

*Leah is a guest blogger for us. To see Leah’s posts click the “Leah – guest Blogger” tag over on the right.

Adoption is unique in that it both creates and requires community. In order to walk the road of adoption, you must elicit the help of social workers, family, friends, and other adoptive families. All of this connecting and relying creates space for incredible new friendships, deepened relationships, and immeasurable personal growth. There is no way we would be where we are in life and especially in our adoption journey without the amazing village that surrounds us. And the communities of families we have met because of adoption allow us to grow, and learn from, and lean on mamas and daddies on our same road. We are so thankful for each and every one.

For my husband and me, relying on others does not come naturally. We sort of pride ourselves, if we are honest, on being self sufficient and independent. However, because of the nature of adoption, we have had to learn to gratefully and humbly lean into the help, advice, support and community that adoption brings. There is no way, in my estimation, to make it on this road alone. And what a wonderful way to travel! The burdens of the journey seem lighter with the support of those who either have traveled before, or are traveling with us. We are able to ask questions, and voice concerns to people who truly “get it.” We have yet to be met with a response that didn’t begin with “oh! I know exactly how you feel!”

There is a dying to yourself that happens in adoption; a relinquishing of pride and self-sufficiency that must take place. There is so much “new” and so much “unknown”, and having community that understands is absolutely necessary. It’s one of the many (many!) reasons I am so grateful for our adoption story. This growth in reliance on others, and Christ, is something I don’t think would have happened without this experience. Being able to move forward in life unafraid of relying on others—joyfully, even, accepting it—is such a blessing. And it creates the opportunity for us to be readily available for others to lean on. It’s a beautiful, messy sometimes, ever connected circle, this adoption thing. We are so thankful to be a part of it.

-Leah

*Leah is a guest blogger for us. To see Leah’s posts click the “Leah – guest Blogger” tag over on the right.

Hi! My name is Leah and this is my sweet family. After 9 years of marriage, my husband Paul and I decided to grow our family. At that time we knew our hearts were (and are!) called to grow our family through adoption, and we began our journey to our sweet little Vivi. Ironically, we waited almost exactly 9 months for Vivian to join our family, and traveled to Arizona to meet our daughter and complete our adoption. While there, we fell in love not only with our precious girl, but her beautiful birthmom and biological brother too. In that time we had together we experienced to the fullest extent the loss, the love, the sacrifice, and the redemption of adoption. Those are days I will treasure in my heart for the rest of my life. We are planning to adopt again in the next year or so, and although we have been stretched more than I ever thought possible through adoption, we know beyond any doubt this is where we have been called. It’s so hard to accurately describe what adoption means to us, but I am excited to share more of our journey.

Leah is a guest blogger – and we look forward to seeing Leah’s posts and messages in the days ahead!